


I'm stuck on you (stuck like glue)

by captainsabs (juliansweigl)



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 05:24:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13241352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juliansweigl/pseuds/captainsabs
Summary: Chloe and Beca have always been stuck like glue.





	I'm stuck on you (stuck like glue)

**Author's Note:**

> it's the one shot NOBODY asked for because i'm procrastinating on absolutely everything and it's late and i can't sleep
> 
> also, come over to my tumblr; leahgaltons and give me any prompts you guys have or any Beale-Mitchell family headcannons... i have loads that i can't wait to tell y'all

Miserable.

 

If Beca had to sum her college life so far in one word; miserable is the first word that comes to mind; really she should be thankful that she’s essentially getting a free ride at Barden University thanks to her dad but Beca wanted to be in LA; producing music and living her best life; instead she was struggling to haul her ass out of bed before midday, missing classes and letting every angry email from her professors head straight to her junk folder. College just _wasn’t_ made for Beca Mitchell.

 

It was the same old story; Beca was in her room, messing with mash-ups on her laptop when she swears she hears faint knocking on all doors in the hallway, pushing one of her earphones behind her ear, she listens closely; jumping when the faint knocking becomes loud and clear that the person is knocking on her door. The knocking ceases as Beca pushes her laptop off her lap and onto her bed before continuing. Beca slowly gets out of bed, shuffling along the floor and pulling open the door with a yawn; suddenly more awake when she finds a redhead outside her room holding a blanket and pillow wearing a smile too bright for Beca at 12 – something, Beca lost track of time a few hours ago.

 

“Hi stranger!” Redhead beams.

 

“… Hi, red…” Beca trails off, unsure as she rubs her eyes wiping her mascara onto the back of her hand in the process.

 

“I’m going to be real with you. I need somewhere to sleep because my roommate is having sex really loudly.” Redhead says with a shudder. “I don’t mind the floor.” She adds.

 

Beca leans against the door, glancing out into the hallway that is completely deserted as she contemplates letting the cute redhead into her room; ignoring the niggling thought in the back of her head that the peppiness of her is something psychological and she is in fact going to murder Beca whilst she sleeps.

 

“Come in red.” Beca’s agreed and let the other girl into the room before she can stop herself. “You can sleep in my bed; my roommate is out for the night so I’ll sleep in hers.” Beca politely gestures to her bed as she shuts the door, heading to grab her things from her bed. “Even if I pay for it tomorrow.” Beca mutters as she grabs her laptop and earphones, placing them on her desk.

 

Redhead is standing in the middle of the room, clutching her pillow and blanket, looking unsure and a lot more anxious than she did previously. “Nobody’s ever actually let me sleep in their room before.”

 

“Red, you’ll come to learn I’m not like most people.” Beca laughs, offering the other girl a smile to try and relax her. “I’m Beca.” She adds, holding her hand out which redhead shakes if not rather awkwardly because of the pillow she’s holding.

 

“Chloe Beale.” Redhead replies. “Thank you.”

 

“It’s no problem.” Beca says with a shrug, playing it off coolly as she climbs into the unmade bed; watching as Chloe carefully sets herself up for the night. “Hey Chloe.” Beca calls out, lying down.

 

Chloe hums and turns around, meeting Beca’s eyes. “Yeah?”

 

“Cute pajamas.” Beca winks before turning over and settling down to go to sleep, missing the light dusting that covers Chloe’s cheeks at the comment.

 

 

When Beca wakes up; Chloe’s gone and Beca tries not to feel too disheartened by the lack of goodbye; that is until she clambers out of bed and sleepily stumbles over to her laptop whilst rubbing the sleep out of her eyes to find a note laying on her laptop.

 

_I had early classes and you looked peaceful so I didn’t want to wake you. Thank you Beca (I don’t know your last name) for letting me sleep here. Let’s do it again sometime ;)_

_Chloe x_

 

Beca finds herself subconsciously smiling as she takes the note, carefully placing it inside her drawer for safekeeping but the passive aggressive note from her roommate about sleeping in her bed gets scrunched up and tossed in the trashcan as Beca walks past. Beca manages to catch her afternoon classes, she even stays awake and spends the rest of the afternoon in the library, partly doing her work but mainly focusing in on finishing a mash-up that she’s been working on for nearly three weeks; she’s tapping her foot, in complete disregard for the world around her so she doesn’t notice somebody walk up behind her, she definitely doesn’t hear her name being called three times but she does jump out of her skin when two hands land on her shoulder. Beca quickly pulls her earphones off, whipping her head around to find Chloe standing behind her, beaming at her.

 

“Hello, Beca _I-still-don’t-know-your-last-name_.” Chloe laughs, clearly impressed with her attempt at a joke.

 

“Hi Chloe.” Beca gives her a smile back.

 

Chloe goes to say something when she notices what’s on Beca’s laptop. “Hey, what is that? It looks cool.” Chloe points to the screen.

 

Beca hesitates at first, eyebrows raised; _nobody_ has ever been remotely interested in Beca’s love for music; in fact her parents often dismissed it as a kid, sure, they bought Beca a guitar and drum kit on birthday and Christmas but other than that, they never cared for listening to the music or taking a minute to read a song and as for mash-ups – they absolutely hated them, thought they were a waste of time so Beca is weary as she focuses in on Chloe’s expression of _genuine interest._ Beca points to the chair beside her and Chloe sits down,

 

“It’s a mash-up.” Beca tells her, pulling her earphones on and placing them over Chloe’s ears; Chloe’s hands covering Beca’s for a moment causing the brunette to dip her head as the blood comes rushing to her cheeks. “It’s not finished and it’s probably not good but I like it so – I’ll just play it, yeah?” Beca asks and Chloe eagerly nods; her knees already bouncing in anticipation.

 

So Beca plays it and Chloe’s smile just gradually gets bigger and bigger the longer the mash-up goes on; her eyes widening and feet tapping with every word until it’s over. “Beca that was so good!” Chloe gushes, her hand falling on the brunette’s bicep.

 

“T-Thanks.” Beca stammers out, turning completely shy instead of the confident (sometimes cocky) self she usually is. “It still needs some work though…” Beca trails off, taking the earphones back.

 

“I want to be the first one to hear it when it’s finished.” Chloe says, and it doesn’t sound like she’s asking either.

 

 

Over the next couple of weeks; Chloe and Beca keep meeting all over campus; whilst they’re getting coffee, walking to their classes, in the library and the occasional morning when a tired and less-enthusiastic Chloe turns up at Beca’s door with a blanket; they go from having never seen each other on campus during the whole fall semester to seeing each other every time they leave their bedrooms – not that either of them mind.

 

“I’m just saying-” Chloe says with her hand held up. “-Harry Potter would have been a lot more realistic if Harry and Hermione had ended up together.” Chloe shrugs as she and Beca sit at their usual booth at the back of the quaint coffee shop a few minutes off campus.

 

“How dare you?!” Beca exclaims, “First you make me sit through every single Harry Potter movie and now you’re letting out your preposterous opinions. I am disappointed in you, Chloe Beale.” Beca rolls her eyes overdramatically before burning her tongue on the steaming cup of coffee.

 

“Serves you right.” Chloe quips, sipping her coffee slowly. “Hey, Bec.”

 

Beca hums, glancing up to Chloe. “What’s up?” She asks, watching Chloe’s line of sight fall on anything that isn’t the brunette.

 

“You can say no but I have two tickets to a fairground this weekend and my roommate bailed at the last minute because her boyfriend’s in town, so, wanna come?” Chloe asks, her voice wavering, the nerves getting the better of her even though she’s just asking her _friend_ to spend their Saturday together, like they have done pretty much every Saturday since they met.

 

“Are you asking me out on a date?” Beca asks out of nowhere, raising her eyebrows when Chloe scoffs,

 

“I – no – this isn’t a date – it could be – no!” Chloe exclaims, spluttering as her cheeks turn crimson.

 

“Relax Chlo.” Beca chuckles, leaning across the table. “My answer is yes, I will go to the fairground with you even though _it’s totally not a date._ ”

 

“It’s not a date.” Chloe repeats.

 

“Unless I want it to be?” Beca quizzes.

 

“What?” Chloe asks, eyes widening.

 

“Nothing. Not a damn thing.” Beca plays it off, leaning back in her chair and taking a sip of coffee.

 

 

For something that is _totally not a date_ ; Beca spends a hell of a lot of time on Saturday morning standing in front of her closet deciding what to wear; should she go with jeans a sweater or maybe something more formal, she could wear a dress or would that be way too impractical? Beca runs a hand through her freshly-washed hair as she contemplates what to wear, knowing damn well that Chloe and her ridiculous need to be frustratingly early is leaving Beca with limited time to get ready as she overslept and snoozed her alarm four times. With time running out; Beca settles on even more casual than she initially intended as she settles on jeans and a Barden hoodie, pulling the green garment over her head; she’s struggling to push her head through the neck hole all the regretting every life decision up until this moment when a knock on the door causes her to groan and trip over her shoes as she stumbles to the door. Beca pulls the door open.

 

“Looking good, Bec.” Chloe chuckles as Beca finally pulls the hoodie on.

 

“You look-” Beca stops when she catches sight of Chloe.

 

She’s not even completely dressed up; in fact she’s wearing what she wears practically every single day; jeans and a nice, autumnal colored sweater that she’s paired with boots but something about her looks different or maybe it’s the feeling in Beca’s stomach that is causing Beca to finally see Chloe in more than a ‘you’re my best friend at college’ way.

 

“-Great. You look great.” Beca finally finishes.

 

“All that time and the best you can come up with is great? You’re losing your touch Mitchell.” Chloe sighs, rolling her eyes playfully.

 

 

They eat their weight in hot dogs, cotton candy and chocolate; laughing and letting their competitive streaks shine through when they compete at every single game, adamant to be the first one to win a prize without taking into consideration just how bad they actually are at the games. When Beca fails for the (fifth) time at the milk bottle game; Chloe has to practically haul her away from the stand despite the brunette’s protests about sixth time lucky. They’re walking together in silence, the sun is beginning to set and Chloe’s fighting back the urge to reach out and hold Beca’s hands because _friends don’t just hold each other’s hands at a carnival._

 

“I hate heights.” Beca comments when she realizes that Chloe is walking towards the Ferris Wheel.

 

“I love them.” Chloe counters and Beca knows she’s sunk when Chloe bats her eyelashes.

 

“Fine.” Beca huffs, folding her arms.

 

“Sucker.” Chloe teases, nudging Beca’s shoulders as the join the back of the line.

 

“For you.” Beca mumbles, cheeks heating as she says it.

 

They get onto the ride; Beca clinging to the railings as the ride starts to move; Chloe is looking out over the fairground as the wheel continues to turn and Beca despite her fears about the ride breaking down and being stuck for eternity in the air can’t stop looking at Chloe, feeling a smile tug at the corners of her lips; Chloe feels Beca staring and when she turns around; she doesn’t get a chance to say anything before Beca is surging forward and kissing her, causing a surprised squeak to escape Chloe’s lips before she kisses Beca back. Beca tastes like cotton candy and it sends Chloe’s head soaring into the clouds. The kiss is short but when they part; Beca keeps her forehead pressed against Chloe’s.

 

“I don’t think I’m so scared of heights anymore.” Beca mumbles.

 

“Let go of the railing then.” Chloe suggests.

 

“I’d rather not.” Beca quickly shakes her head causing the pair to start laughing.

 

Beca is flooded with relief when her feet finally touch the soggy grass again, “I’ve missed you so much land.” Beca sighs, frowning and flipping Chloe off when she hears the redhead’s laughter from behind her.

 

“Hey Chlo; what are we now?” Beca asks, turning serious for a second.

 

Chloe kisses Beca before leaning back. “Anything you want us to be.”

 

XxX

 

“Can you believe I managed to put up with you for an entire year?” Chloe asks, her voice muffled by Beca’s shirt as the pair lie in their apartment, the couch is kind of small for the both of them but Beca doesn’t mind; it gives her an excuse to pull Chloe closer.

 

“I expect my medal in the mail any day now, _red_.” Beca teases, nudging Chloe’s cheek with her nose. “Happy Anniversary, Chloe. You’re without a doubt the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Beca smiles, sincerity and sappiness dripping from her tone.

 

Normally Chloe would reply with a sarcastic comment or make fun of the fact Beca is turning soft on her but when she shuffles around and meets Beca’s eyes; the teasing comment is swallowed back down as Chloe’s fingers move up to rest against Beca’s cheek.

 

“I love you.” Is all Chloe can muster up in reply, eyes never leaving Beca’s.

 

“I love you too.” Beca whispers back, closing the gap between them.

 

 

“That’s not where the tree goes.” Chloe says as soon as she walks into the living room with the box of Christmas decorations. “It goes in the other corner because you’re blocking the TV.”

 

“You said this corner!” Beca protests from where she’s wrapped herself in the Christmas tree.

 

“I said that corner.” Chloe points to the opposite corner. “You never have been a fan of listening to me, have you?” The redhead teases causing incoherent muttering in reply from Beca.

 

Chloe takes a seat on the couch, sorting through the decorations as Beca finally puts the tree where it was supposed to be in the first place. They decorate the tree together; Beca doing anything she can to make Chloe laugh including wrapping the garland around her neck despite knowing it will give her a rash caused by being allergic to the dumbest of materials. They dance to Christmas songs, singing All I Want For Christmas Is You on a fifteen minute loop as they slide along the hardwood floor of their living room in fluffy socks. They put the star on top of the tree before heading towards the kitchen to make hot chocolate but not before Beca tugs Chloe back to the living room doorway and kisses her softly.

 

“Chloe Beale, I hope you were not trying to break tradition.” Beca says, glancing up to the doorway where mistletoe hangs.

 

“You put that there so you have a reason to kiss me.” Chloe argues, pouting slightly.

 

“Babe, I have never needed a reason to kiss you.” Beca chuckles before kissing her again.

 

 

With finals coming up; both Chloe and Beca get stressed and it causes friction in the apartment; between studying for finals and working; Chloe comes home and wants nothing more than to take a nap but the minute she walks through the door, she’s tripping over Beca’s shoes that have been haphazardly tossed by the front door. Chloe sighs, running a hand through her hair as she kicks Beca’s shoes into the wall; she hangs her jacket and purse up before walking into the living room; stopping abruptly and gasping at the mess in the living room. There are chips packets, candy bar wrappers, empty soda cans and papers all over the floor.

 

“Beca what the hell?!” Chloe exclaims. “I tidied this room this morning!” Chloe continues to exclaim, noticing that Beca has her earphones over her ears and is not listening to a word she says.

 

Chloe groans as she enters the living room, leaning down and pushing the earphones off her girlfriend’s ears. Beca looks up to Chloe, glaring at her girlfriend.

 

“What the hell Chloe?!” Beca asks, “I was listening to that.”

 

“What the hell is this mess, Beca? I’ve only been gone for a few hours.” Chloe sighs, suddenly feeling way more exhausted than she was when she returned home.

 

“I’m studying.” Beca answers with a shrug before looking away from Chloe, signaling their conversation was over.

 

Chloe just rolls her eyes and storms out of the living room and taking the grocery store bag into the kitchen with her; she starts putting the groceries away, making a big deal of slamming the cupboard doors and making too much noise to deliberately rile Beca up. Chloe throws the pasta into the cupboard and slams it shut again; turning around to find Beca standing in the doorway, arms folded and glaring at her.

 

“Will you keep it down? I’m trying to fucking study.” Beca spits out,

 

Chloe starts laughing, turning around and reaching into the bag pulling out a tub of peanut butter ice cream; Beca’s favorite; she walks over to her girlfriend; shoving the tub into her chest.

 

“I know you’ve been stressing about finals so I bought you this to help you through it. I regret it now.” Chloe sighs, the anger and annoyance evaporating from her voice as Beca takes the ice cream.

 

Chloe just walks past Beca and heads towards their bedroom; Beca watches her go feeling like a complete and utter dick.

 

Chloe spends the night in their room alone; studying but mainly drowning her sorrows in cheesy Hallmark movies that she doesn’t waste no time in complaining about, calling them complete bullshit but not reaching for the remote to change the channel. Beca sits in the living room, eating the ice cream and figuring out how to make it up to her girlfriend – she tidies the whole apartment and the pair fall into bed a little after 1AM; mumbling to each other how sorry they are.

 

XxX

 

After graduation comes their biggest test; Beca’s dream is still LA to produce music but at least now she has a college degree to fall back on if she fails to make it. Chloe’s dream is a small town near her family and fulfilling a dream of becoming a teacher which puts the pair at loggerheads over who’s dream is more important. Beca is adamant that Chloe will be happy in LA but the notion of living in a massive city like Los Angeles makes Chloe nauseous and the possibility of Beca ever living in a small town again is a massive no; she had enough of that as a child; she dreams of bright lights and endless nights. Beca spends her nights out with Jesse and Stacie whilst Chloe stays in, sometimes Aubrey will come over and keep her company but Chloe spends most of her time researching teaching jobs and sending her resume out whilst waiting for Beca to return home, drunk, and only for her to pass out on the couch smelling like an explosion at a brewery.

 

Chloe has Netflix on in the background as she checks her emails; one from Oakwood Elementary School in Oakwood; Georgia; she scans the email, elation filling her when she realizes that they have offered her the job. She places her laptop aside before standing up, gasping and jumping up and down; finally, the hard work has paid off until the front door opens and realization dawns on Chloe; the elation from the email wearing off immediately when Beca walks into the living room; eyes not glassed over, cheeks not rosy and not struggling to stand up straight – sober Beca which just fills Chloe with more dread than if her girlfriend was drunk.

 

“You look like you just saw a ghost.” Beca comments, shrugging her jacket off and laying it across the arm of the couch. “What’s up?” She asks, now more alert when Chloe doesn’t answer, her eyes glancing back to her laptop. “Is it on the laptop?” Beca asks and all Chloe can do is nod.

 

Chloe stands back as Beca mumbles out an ‘ok’ before walking over to take Chloe’s laptop and read the email, she bites down on her thumb nail as Beca breaks out into a huge grin before standing up, crossing the room and bringing Chloe into a hug.

 

“You got the job; I’m so proud of you, Chlo.” Beca beams.

 

Chloe starts crying, dropping her head onto Beca’s shoulder; wrapping her arms around her girlfriend as tightly as she can. Chloe doesn’t know if Beca’s happiness, the fact she called her ‘Chlo’ after what seemed like forever or the fact Chloe was about to break the love of her life’s heart was causing her to cry but the pause between Beca asking what’s wrong and Chloe explaining is a moment that the redhead wishes would last forever.

 

“The job, it’s in Georgia.” Chloe mumbles out feebly, walking away from Beca; knowing she can’t bear to be close to her now. “It starts next week; I have to take it, I’ve been waiting months – you know I have.”

 

Beca takes a few seconds to take it all in, let it settle and sink in. “You’re leaving?” She asks.

 

“I have to.” Chloe sighs. “I want this job, and it’s a small town just like I wanted.”

 

“What about me? What about _us_?” Beca asks, turning her head when her voice cracks.

 

“Beca…” Chloe trails off. “You – I – we knew this was coming.” Chloe tries to remind her.

 

Three and a half weeks ago they had reluctantly sat down and discussed what would happen if they had to part ways for their jobs; it wasn’t a pleasant conversation, Chloe didn’t get through a single sentence without crying but they both knew that their careers as well as each other were important each other and Chloe kept preaching,

 

“ _If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours, and if they don’t, they never were._ ” – Beca rolled her eyes but ultimately they agreed, figuring they had longer together than the feeble three weeks they had essentially been offered.

 

“What if we get married?” Beca suggests out of thin air. “Yeah; we can get married and then we can both go to LA together.” Beca continues to think aloud.

 

The excitement building in Chloe’s stomach evaporates at the mention of LA (again). “I thought you actually wanted to marry me for a minute but it’s all LA with you Beca! LA this, LA that; if you care about LA so much why are you still here?!” Chloe shouts harshly, regretting the words the minute she says them.

 

Beca looks astounded at the outburst before regaining her composure, she shrugs. “Why am I still here?” She repeats the question. “If you were just going to up and leave then why did I stick around for so long, huh?!” Beca yells at her.

 

Chloe swallows thickly, accepting the words; she expected them, she deserves them. She walks towards the living room door before turning to Beca. “I leave in a week for Georgia; if you didn’t read down that far.” Are the redhead’s parting words as she grabs her shoes, coat and leaves the apartment.

 

 

Aubrey is waiting with Chloe outside the apartment building; her car is packed and ready to go; Chloe keeps glancing down at her phone;

 

“Maybe you should just go?” Aubrey suggests when she catches the flash of hurt on Chloe’s face. “Maybe it’s easier you don’t get to say goodbye.”

 

“I said midday.” Chloe snaps unintentionally, grateful that Aubrey just shakes it off. “I’m giving her a chance and then I’ll go.” Chloe explains this time softer.

 

The time ticks ever closer to midday but Beca continues to be a no-show; Chloe wishes time would just stop but as her watch reaches 11:58AM; Chloe resigns and gets ready to climb into her car when a voice behind her stops her.

 

“I thought you said I had until midday?”

 

“I didn’t think you were going to show…” Chloe trails off, rubbing her shoulder as she turns to face her (ex) girlfriend.

 

“When have I ever let you down?” Beca asks, giving Chloe a small smile. “Chloe listen; I know I don’t have much time left so I’m going to need you to stay quiet ok? Right, I know I didn’t seem proud of you but I am, fuck, Chloe I am the proudest person on the planet that you’re finally following your dream but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt like a bitch that in a week you’re going to be two thousand miles away from me when I’m so used to being two meters away from you at the furthest.” Beca stops, stepping closer to Chloe and cupping her cheeks. “I love you, I will _always_ love you and hey, maybe you’re right; one day we might be back together and I’ll be hoping all the way from LA. Go and teach your class of eight year olds how to be their best person. I’m rooting for you, Chlo.”

 

Beca is struggling to fight back her own tears as she pulls Chloe into a tight hug, pressing a kiss to the side of her head; Chloe gave up fighting back the tears as soon as Beca opened her mouth. Aubrey is standing off to the side;

 

“I feel like you’ve just broken up with me, Bec.” She laughs, trying to lighten the mood.

 

Chloe doesn’t want to let Beca go because when she does; they’re officially broken up and on their way to the next chapter of their lives without each other for the first time since Beca’s freshman year of college and after five years of kisses, hugs, laughter and being the first person the other sees when they open their eyes; the notion of never getting that again is like being repeatedly punched in the stomach.

 

“Promise me something.” Chloe says when they part. “Promise me you’ll find someone who makes you happy.” Chloe tries to sound confident but the thought of Beca and someone else making her as happy as Chloe made her is making her sick.

 

“Don – don’t make me promise that.” Beca huffs out, blinking rapidly to get rid of the tears in the corners of her eyes. “Don’t you dare make me promise that Chloe when you know _nobody_ could make me as happy as you made me.”

 

“Beca…” Chloe trails off, reaching up to caress the brunette’s cheek. “Live every day like it’s your last and don’t give up on someone else because you’re hung up on me.”

 

Beca doesn’t promise but she does cry into Aubrey’s shoulder as Chloe drives away.

 

XxX

 

A year and a half passes after Beca and Chloe breakup; they still think about each other, one or the other always picking up their phone after something happens and going to text the other before remembering; they’d thought after eighteen months; it would get easier to live their lives without the other but as night falls in Oakwood; Chloe still wonders what Beca’s doing at that precise moment, is she missing her as much as Chloe’s missing her, is she happy? Is Beca dating somebody? Chloe knows she’s not going to get answers; Aubrey tries to avoid Beca coming up in conversation to try and avoid hurting Chloe. Beca struggles in LA; apparently making a name for yourself in the music business isn’t an immediate thing so she spends her days working hard and nights at overpriced LA bars, every shot of tequila that burns her throat reminds her off the ache in her chest at remembering Chloe isn’t at home anymore.

 

Chloe meets Sarah at a bookstore in Oakwood sometime in the late fall; they both reach for an old-fashioned cooking book at the same time, both laughing and offering the book until the other until Sarah accepts the book on the condition that Chloe joins her one night and they cook a recipe from the book. Chloe blushes and calls it a date. That date turns into three, six, nine, twelve and before she even has a chance to breathe it seems; she’s in a relationship with the shop owner.

 

“Sarah, babe, you’ll never guess how bad today wa-” Chloe stops abruptly when she enters the kitchen, staring at the candlelit dinner set up. “What’s this?” She asks, taking her jacket off and walking into the kitchen when Sarah hands her a glass of wine.

 

“You sounded stressed on the phone so I closed early and did this.” Sarah replies with a shrug. “I just wanted to make you feel better.” She smiles as she kisses the side of Chloe’s head.

 

Chloe swallows thickly, closing her eyes when the first thought that enters her mind is Beca never used to cook her dinner after a bad day and boy, Chloe feels awful for thinking that after all the effort Sarah has just put in.

 

Sarah and Chloe continue to explore new aspects of their relationship; finding pleasure and a warmth that they have both been missing with each other whilst over in Los Angeles;

 

Beca pushes open the door to her crappy, overpriced apartment and flicks the lights on; kicking the door shut she makes her way into her bedroom and flops down face first on the bed, letting out a loud scream into her pillow after another day of being kicked down by her asshole of a boss. Beca reaches into her pocket to grab her phone; she reads the text from Amy and before she knows it; she’s sitting in a stuffy dive bar with Amy and Amy’s friends downing shot after shot and drinking beer after beer but not even the amount of alcohol she’s taken in the short few hours she’s been out; nothing gets her buzzed; she feels numb, hopeless, empty without Chloe and she hates herself for still being hung-up on the redhead after nearly nineteen months since their breakup so she downs a shot of vodka? She thinks it’s vodka before gliding out to the dance floor, grabbing the hand of a pretty blonde and taking her back to her apartment.

 

It’s not the healthiest coping mechanism; drinking and meaningless flings but for the first time in a long time; Beca feels _something_ , it isn’t a lot but it’s a start.

 

XxX

 

Chloe and Beca’s invitations for Stacie and Aubrey’s wedding arrives on the same day and for the first time in a long time; their first thought isn’t about the other. The wedding approaches and Chloe relishes being back in Louisiana for the first time in a while; excited to see her friends, excited to be Aubrey’s maid of honor but the ball of anxiety in the pit of Chloe’s stomach over seeing Beca again can’t be shaken no matter what and suddenly, Chloe is glad that Sarah was out of town and unable to make the wedding.

 

Chloe and Beca manage to avoid each other the entire week they’re back in Louisiana but they meet on the morning of the wedding; Beca is walking down the hallway back to her hotel room when Chloe exits Aubrey’s room; they both stop and stare at each other, small smiles are on their lips out of politeness but neither can muster up anything to say so Chloe quickly just turns and walks the other way down the hallway to escape the awkwardness and before she can blurt something stupid out like ‘I still love you.’ They manage to avoid being alone together until halfway through the reception; the speeches have been done and Beca sits down in the empty chair beside Chloe.

 

“You look great.” Beca says to her, breaking the silence and Chloe starts laughing, feeling all nostalgic all of a sudden.

 

“You said that to me on our first date.” Chloe reminds Beca; turning to face her ex.

 

“What can I say? You’re so beautiful that I forget every other adjective apart from great.” Beca shrugs, her tone flirtatious but there’s still a hint of hurt underlying her words.

 

The pair make relative small talk until Chloe drinks the rest of her champagne and stands up; extending her hand to Beca.

 

“I believe you promised me a slow dance whenever one of our friends got married.” Chloe smiles at her and Beca doesn’t hesitate to take her hand and lead her out to the dance floor; unaware that Stacie and Aubrey are smiling at the pair in the background.

 

So they dance; their hands intertwined, Chloe’s head on Beca’s shoulder as the brunette leads them around the floor, softly humming the tune of whatever song is playing and for a split second; everything flashes back to two and a half years ago when Chloe and Beca were still together, LA hadn’t torn them apart yet and their whole lives together were ahead of them; maybe that’s why Chloe feels like she’s about to puke, because she had hers and Beca’s lives completely planned out and now it feels like they’re two worlds away and Chloe has a girlfriend, so dancing with Beca feels _so_ wrong but so right and she’s completely conflicted and lightheaded; the room starts spinning and before Chloe realizes; the room turns black.

 

Chloe wakes up a while later; feeling a cold compress on her head; she flutters open her eyes and Beca is holding an icepack to her forehead, scrolling through her phone.

 

“Bec?”

 

Beca places her phone aside before removing the icepack as Chloe sits up.

 

“I passed out, didn’t I?” Chloe asks but she already knows she did.

 

“Are you ok? Do you need anything?” Beca asks, expecting Chloe to ask for water not for her ex girlfriend to lean forward and kiss her.

 

“I really wish I didn’t still feel something for you.” Chloe sighs when they part.

 

 

Chloe returns to Oakwood two days later; walking through the front door of the house she shares with Sarah, not expecting to open the door to her girlfriend down on one knee; holding out a diamond ring to her.

 

“I was going to wait, do it more romantically but baby, I love you.” Sarah grins at her, “what do you say, will you marry me?”

 

XxX

 

Los Angeles is a truly incredible city; Chloe is mesmerized from the minute the plane lands at LAX and she begins to wonder whether she could have grown to love the city if she had followed Beca here. Chloe gets lost a few times but she finally hits downtown LA and finds the studio; she enters the building, asking the receptionist as politely as she can if she can go through; the receptionist seems disinterested and waves Chloe along; the studio is long, and the equipment looks expensive so Chloe reluctantly avoids playing the keyboard in the hallway as she makes her way through the corridors when she spots her; she’s photocopying something. Chloe quickens her speed, reaching the office that Beca is in and knocks.

 

“I said I’d be a minu – Chloe?” Beca’s jaw drops in shock. “What are you doing here?” She asks, forgetting the photocopying and walking towards her.

 

“I got proposed to when I got back to Oakwood.” Chloe says, “And I said no; do you know why?” Chloe asks and she seems angry so Beca backs off slightly.

 

“Why?” Beca asks cautiously, swallowing thickly and thinking back to see if she somehow screwed up Chloe’s proposal.

 

“Because you weren’t the one proposing to me!” Chloe exclaims as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “I had the sweetest, loveliest girlfriend in Georgia; seriously that woman would take a bullet for me but how am I supposed to give my heart to another woman when you’re the only person I want to be with, Beca?!” Chloe groans, pacing the hall.

 

Beca freezes, she doesn’t know what to do or say at this point or why Chloe is so angry at her.

 

“I love you, and leaving for Georgia was the worst decision I have ever made in my entire life and I took Russian Literature at college.” Chloe’s anger fades and she laughs instead, stepping closer to Beca and cupping her cheeks. “I’m going to be so pissed if you have a girlfriend.”

 

Beca’s the one to kiss her.

 

XxX

 

Chloe yawns as she steps through the door of the house; she kicks it shut behind her, shrugging her coat off when she hears music from the living room and notices rose petals on the floor in the hallway leading into the living room. Chloe leaves her coat and purse by the door as she follows the trail of rose petals into the living room; the room has candles everywhere and rose petals scattered across the floor. Chloe smiles as she turns around; Beca walks into the living room, walking over to Chloe and kissing her cheek.

 

“You know I love you right?” Beca asks.

 

“I know.” Chloe replies skeptically. “What have you broken?” Chloe asks, narrowing her eyes and causing Beca to laugh.

 

“Nothing. I actually have a proposition for you.” Beca says casually, hands in her pockets.

 

“Oh yeah?” Chloe raises her eyebrows.

 

Beca hums reaching into her back pocket and revealing a red, velvet box. “How would you like to spend the rest of your life with me?” Beca asks, lifting the lid of the box to reveal a diamond ring.

 

“Beca…” Chloe trails off.

 

“Chloe Beale; I have loved you for the last eight years of my life and as much as I love being your girlfriend; being your wife sounds so much cooler; so, will you marry me?”

 

“I thought you would _never_ ask.” Chloe smirks in reply, rushing forward and crashing her lips against Beca’s.

 

“You’re mine now, _Red_. Forever.”


End file.
